This invention relates to electrical connectors and, more particularly, to a frame type electrical connector for making electrical connections to large-area visual displays.
Recent advances in display technology have resulted in the development of flat large-area visual displays which create a visual image using a matrix of dots in a manner similar to that used in a cathode ray tube (CRT). One example of such a display is a flat glass substrate having a display area of about one square foot. The substrate includes thin closely-spaced lines of metallization which extend horizontally and vertically across the display area to form a matrix of points or dots where the individual lines cross. A visual image is created by causing various of the points of the display to become visible by applying a voltage between particular ones of the horizontal and vertical lines of metallization. In one embodiment of a flat visual display, 512 horizontal and 640 vertical lines are employed to create a matrix of over 300,000 points.
In order to make practical use of flat visual displays, it is necessary to provide an inexpensive and reliable way of making electrical connections to each of the lines of metallization. In particular, the close spacing between adjacent lines (which may be as little as twenty thousandths of an inch) and the long distance over which these lines are distributed (which may be twelve inches or more) require a connector in which the alignment between the metallization pattern on the display and the individual contacts on the connector is extremely accurate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved electrical connector for large-area visual displays.
It is another object of the present invention to provide extremely accurate alignment between a metallization pattern on a large-area visual display and the individual contacts of an electrical connector.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive and reliable method of making an electrical connector for large-area visual displays.